Lies and Deceit Quotes in Speaker for the Dead

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

She would also destroy all the records of her work in this area, all the records of her parents' work that had led to her own discoveries. They would be gone. Even though it had been the focus of her life, even though it had been her identity for many years, she would destroy it as she herself should be punished, destroyed, obliterated. (3.53)

The deception here involves erasing herself, and a kind of self-punishment. Maybe you could say something similar about Ender, who spends all those years deceiving people about his past.

Quote #2

In the meantime I can't report any of this because, whether I meant to or not, I've clearly violated the rules… Never mind that the rules are stupid and counterproductive. I broke them, and if they find out they will cut off my contact with the pequeninos…. So I'm forced into deception and silly subterfuge. (5.6)

Pipo can't tell the truth because the laws are stupid. It's not enough to be truthful yourself—you need the community to be one in which truth can be told. If you tell a lie, it's everybody's fault. (This is not a defense recommended in a court of law.)

Quote #3

"I ask people questions and try to find out true stories."

"Nobody at the Ribeira house knows any true stories."

"I'd settle for lies." (6.218-220)

And lies are what he gets, because again what we've got here is fiction, not true stories. The novel doesn't do much with this though; it just accepts that within the fiction what it says is true is true. As a result, in the novel it's often a lot easier to tell what's true than you'd think it should be.